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Branding Your Creative Business: Part Two

Branding your creative business is important. Last week we took a close look at what it means to be a brand. We identified important components of a brand message. If you missed that post or need a refresher, you can reread it here. This week we will investigate:

personal branding vs. business branding

the benefits of sharing YOU in your brand image

how to create a consistent look across all your media channels (websites and social media platforms)

Personal Branding vs. Business Branding

In recent my recent posts Being YOU in Business and Maintaining a DIY Craft Blog, we established that you are your business. In other words, you are the brand. You may be thinking right now that you are a legitimate, established business with all proper papers filed, therefore you should be branding your business. Yes…and no. So, what is the difference then?

Think about a large corporation for a minute. Let's use Ford Motor Corporation. They are HUGE conglomerate with thousands of employees. If one of their dealerships, for example, is doing a spectacular job it reflects on the entire corporation. No one is thinking about Henry Ford, per se…they are only thinking about the brand. Then you have large corporations like Martha Stewart. She IS her brand. When something exciting happens around the Martha Stewart brand, you naturally think of Martha herself. It is this second type of branding…personal branding…that we are going to focus on today.

What is the benefit of personal branding?

There are benefits to branding yourself, especially for independent creative entrepreneurs. If you were to Google the benefits of personal branding, you will find all sorts of posts about it. I, however, am going to speak from a place of personal experience. I have a company name. It is even trademarked. I have used it for years, but I noticed…ohhhh, sometime last year that no one in my industry recognizes me by my company name, but they know exactly who I am. It was around that time that I completely rebranded. I did not change my brand message. I did change who was delivering that message. Now it comes from me. Why? Because I realized that I was the brand.

So the benefits of personal branding for me are as follows:

I am recognizable in my niche.

I am establishing myself as the expert and authority in my niche.

I can put my own personal flair into how I deliver my brand, me!

How do I look?

In addition to a clear brand message, having a consistent look is also important. As business owners, we all use several different avenues to reach potential clients and deliver our message. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google Plus (and more) are platforms where we have an opportunity to deliver a uniform look to our audience….which for creative businesses is our own unique style. Think about your own artwork for a minute. Are people who are familiar with your art able to pick a piece you've designed from the crowd? Many times, yes! How your brand looks…and having cohesion…is just as important. This is how people recognize you.

Some of us have logos, avatars and slogans that we are already using in our business. However, I cannot tell you how many times I have visited someone's blog then followed their social media links to find that each one looks different. Their pictures are all different or sometimes there is no photograph of them at all…just a photo of a random piece of art or their logo. Additionally, and more horrifying if you ask me, is the fact that sometimes when I visit a blog I can't even identify WHO the artist is in the first place! There is no picture of a human face, no name or about page…just a company name that means nothing at all to someone who is looking at it. Remember this fact as we move forward here….people connect with people…not with businesses! You are your brand…show yourself! (steps down off soap box)

I am not against logos at all. There are a lot of awesome logos out there! Some of them have even been designed by my colleagues. That's fantastic! I am saying, incorporate your logo where it is most appropriate. That means, if you are an independent like myself, you should have a picture of a human, not your logo, on your profiles. I am less likely to click away if I feel I am connecting with a person.

Here are some tips to help you with being consistent across the web and with your physical marketing materials:

Post a photograph of yourself in the sidebar of your blog (or on your About page) and on your social media profiles.

Create a Gravatar.com account with the same picture so that when you are commenting on other's blogs, your photo will appear.

Be consistent with colors. Whenever possible, use your colors from your logo and that are on your blog. Some places to make sure you are using those colors: all your social networks, business cards, flyers, invoices, brochures, posters, opt-in offers, etc.

Know the codes for your colors. If you do your own graphics or hire someone else, knowing the Hex, RGB and CMYK for your colors will help with uniformity and save time overall.

Always fill out the "About" section on any profiles you have across the web. Use the same description on your social networks unless there is a character limit, as on Twitter.

That's all for today, my friends! Next week will be Part Three where will will talk about how to deliver your brand message. Hope you have enjoyed and I cannot wait to read your responses.

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Comments

Very informative, Theresa. I so agree with you about putting your name on the blog. I am amazed at times. I came across a blog today where the most recent post was not dated. No comments so I couldn't determine. Not that it mattered but that was a first for me. Great post, thanks!
-Molly

I have been finding more frequently that posts are not being dated. If there is no date, I usually click away (unless it is a craft tutorial) because I don’t know how current the information is. So glad you found this post informative.

Theresa, the graphics that you use to illustrate your point are so effective. I don't like it when I find a blog and I can't put a face to it,either. This is very good advice about keeping your branding consistent….thank you!

Great information Teresa! My brain is spinning trying to figure out how I will do this. My logo is black and white and I love it but I don't want everything black and white. I will ponder this new information…
Glad you put your example of all your sites with your branding. I see how by NOT doing this it would be very confusing.

Having a black and white logo isn’t a detriment, Suzanne. You have the option to include any other colors you want in your site and social platforms that will only enhance your logo. Most important for you, I think, is making sure you are showing who the face behind Pristine Dreams is!

I struggle with this concept and need to put my face to my business. I have had a successful business before that few if any knew the face behind the brand. Thanks for the advice.. I will be putting me in my business a little business. and creating my own personal style! I adore your blog by the way! You have done a great job of putting you into your Brand!

Elizabeth…I have noticed that I am not seeing your beautiful face on your new site. You already possess all the skills to build a successful brand. With your new company, just keep in mind that you are the driving force behind it and I think if you keep in mind that you need to show yourself more you’ll be gold!

I agree that a consistent look is key. I'm double-checking that my photo is the same everywhere now!
My only problem is when branding my biz in which I'm co-founder. Two of us are partners and I want to squeeze both of our faces on the small icon/gravatar space when representing the company. Often one of us is talking – like I'm doing right here on this comment – so individual photos are fine.
But even when the message is coming from the company, I'd prefer our photos over a logo to represent us. You are right, those of us in small business ARE the brand in most cases.

Thanks for your comment, Rob. Your issue really isn’t all that complicated. You can actually take a photo of the you and your partner together and use that across your platforms. Who is speaking isn’t as important as having a consisten message. Good luck!

Theresa,
This is really great advice! I am actually going to share this with a jewelry designer friend of mine that is just starting out. She can't afford my services yet, but your blog speaks directly to her business.

Glad you enjoyed the article, Shelley. I am so thankful that you shared this with your friend. I’d love to be introduced to your friend. I work in the craft and hobby industry…I’d love to see if there is a way to get her involved with our professional association.

Thank you for your kind comment, Carol! As you already know, I rebranded not too long ago…making sure I am consistent across the web is really important for me personally. You have a very distinct look to your brand as well. Showcasing that across your media platforms will help you be recognized more easily.

Great article! I think the best advice I received a few months after I had begun building a social media presence was to brand ME. So I changed my website to my personal name, then discovered that folks really liked connecting. Its been marvelous ever since!

I'm finally catching up on my reading tonight… The information you're offering in this series is invaluable. Thank you for sharing! Quick question if I may.. I don't have my photo on my blog's Facebook page but it is on my blog, Twitter and Pinterest pages. Would you recommend adding it there too?

Thanks for stopping by, Peggy. Yes, I would recommend having your photo on Facebook…especially since you can showcase such a large graphic in your cover. I know when I am searching for people on FB, I’m looking for a face to go next to that name. Particularly one I recognize.

Loved this article. I'm really debating the whole website name change, but I've already developed a following and have a business name under by blog name. Nevertheless, most people and businesses I work with do know me by name rather than blog name. oh, decisions.

Glad you liked this article, Cheryl. I went through the same thing when I rebranded last year. I still use my company name in my back end…just not in my marketing efforts. Let me know if you need any help. 🙂

Thank you for the info I keep all my logos the same across social networks, the little yellow handbag, so I have a recognisable logo, but after reading this think maybe in some places i.e my blog should have a personal photo as well as I am the business, and I think creating a Gravatar account should be on the list too.
Thanks for sharing , fab info.

Glad to hear you have already thought to keep your branding consistent, Martisanne. I am thrilled to hear that you were able to glean some other advice from my posts. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!

Nice! I’m just beginning to get my “brand” going and your comments are most helpful. I do understand that I am the brand, that I need to keep the same profile pic, but keeping the same color throughout my social media sites is something I did not consider.